Just Friends
by treacletart
Summary: Skylar Stamm has the annoying habit of being caught in various places with Sirius Black. But unlike what most of Hogwarts thinks, they are just friends. Just friends trying to set their two friends up. Marauder's story from fifth year on with a few OCs.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: **J.K. Rowling owns the entire HP universe and all of the Harry Potter characters. I only own a few original characters in this story.

* * *

"And NO magic!" Filch said he closed the door to the trophy room with a definitive slam. A tiny click indicated that the door was locked and the two people inside of the room weren't getting out any time soon.

Skylar Stamm looked around at all the trophies with a feeling of dread. She was supposed to clean _all _of these with _no _magic? There went the rest of her years at Hogwarts, there was no way she was ever going to leave this room.

"Old bat," The other occupant of the room muttered. "I'd love to see what he does in his free time."

"Filch?" Skylar asked. "Why would you want to see _that?" _

_ "_Can't you just imagine? Putting together torture instruments or making shrines to cats..."

Skylar did not expect that she would be in detention with someone else but if she had been expecting it, she would of guessed that Sirius Black would be that person. It wasn't surprising to see him in detention, he was always in trouble, the real surprise was the fact that he was alone. As far as Skylar knew, Sirius and his friends were always causing mischief together.

Sirius was grinning as he picked up a trophy and pointed his wand at it. The trophy suddenly shined more brightly in his hand.

"He said no magic!"

"And," Sirius said calmly as he replaced the trophy to it's spot on the shelf and picked up another, "He left us in here all alone after saying that. Which means, that he fully expects us to use magic."

"I didn't realize you and him were so close. Wanting to spend more time with him and knowing the unspoken things he means..."

"If friendships were made by hours spent together, Filch and I would be best friends." Sirius said with a grin.

"Then maybe you should be a good friend and do what he says."

"And maybe you should help me," Sirius said as he finished the one shelf and moved on to another.

Skylar knew that Sirius had a point and at the rate he was going he would finish the room before Skylar even started. She decided to follow Filch's orders and opened up the dirty old tin that contained the polish. As soon as the lid came off, an overpowering stench came out and Skylar sneaked a glance inside. It was half-full of a thick brownish goop that made her gag.

"This is disgusting," She muttered.

"You know what's not disgusting? A wand," Sirius said as he pointed his towards another trophy, which was shining within seconds.

"But we're not _supposed _to," Skylar said, her voice whining a bit on the "supposed."

"How did you get detention anyway if you're so concerned about what you're _supposed_ to do?"

Skylar was not comfortable answering that. She had only spoken to Sirius a few times before, here and there when they shared classes, but they were mostly strangers. She was taken aback by how friendly he was being. He probably didn't even know her name or he knew it in passing. But she had to say something, there was no point in being rude if they were going to be locked in a room together for hours.

"I was helping a friend," She answered vaguely. "What about you?"

Sirius turned towards Skylar with a grave expression on his face:

"Betrayed by a friend."

Ignoring the container of metal polish in her hand, Skylar turned to face Sirius, unsure if he was joking. Was he teasing her about her excuse? Did that truly happen? Sirius wrinkled his nose as she stared at him.

"That stuff really is disgusting," He said. Skylar looked down to see that the hand holding the polish had extended outward towards him.

"Oh, yeah. I'm not going to use it," Skylar said decidedly and screwed the lid back on.

"Atta girl." Sirius said with a grin turning back towards the trophies.

Skylar followed suit and there was an awkward silence for a few minutes.

"So," She said finally. "Is that really why you're in detention?"

"What?" Sirius said, clearly lost in his thoughts."Oh, yeah kind of. Let's just say I wasn't the only one breaking rules, but I was the only one who took the blame for everyone else."

"Noble," Skylar commented.

Sirius placed his hand over his heart and inclined his head in a half-bow. "Gryffindor."

Skylar laughed and grabbed another a trophy. There was only a handful left to do.

"And you?" He asked.

"My friend needed...something," Skylar didn't want to say cheering up because that would be giving away too much information. "And I sort of, went to the extreme to do it for her."

"Loyal," Sirius commented.

Skylar imitated his motions and said: "Hufflepuff."

Sirius laughed and picked up another trophy. Skylar did the same with the last one. As she placed it back on the shelf carefully, she said:

"Now what?"

"Now, we try to escape."

Sirius bounded over towards the door and sent a spell towards the lock. He tried the door handle but it wouldn't budge.

"Damnit," He muttered while casting around the room for any other means of escape. Skylar slid down the wall to sit on the floor, convinced they were going to be there for a while. Admitting defeat, Sirius did the same.

"So," Sirius said conversationally. "Hufflepuff? I think we're in the same Herbology class. You're a fifth year, right?"

"Right."

"You're..." Sirius's face showed the strain of concentration. "Either Skylar or Anna."

So he did know her name. "Skylar, Anna's my friend."

"The same friend you went extreme for?"

"Er, yeah." Skylar wished for any other conversation topic. She got in trouble over something so stupid. It was nothing to be proud of and frankly, it embarrassed the hell out of her.

"And what's extreme?" He asked.

"My friend was in a bad mood and I thought maybe some food would cheer her up. So, I tried to get some from the kitchens."

Sirius gave her a blank stare. "I'm not seeing the extreme. Getting food from the kitchens is fairly easy."

"Then I suppose I went about it the wrong way."

"How did you...?"

"Through the great hall," Skylar said, so embarrassed that she was sure that she was blushing.

Sirius let out a loud and hearty laugh.

"Yeah, I know. It was stupid," Skylar said glumly.

"I'm not..." Sirius said in between peals of laughter. "I mean...I don't..." He finally seemed to compose himself. "It's just you're a _hufflepuff_. You ought to know where the kitchen is."

"What is that supposed to mean?" Skylar had been through years of being put-down for being a hufflepuff.

"The kitchen is right by your commonroom. You know that painting of the bowl of fruit? Well, you tickle the pear and..."

"How do you know where our commonroom is? How do you know where the kitchen _is?" _

Sirius shrugged: "I know all sorts of secrets inside these walls."

"Well share the knowledge. Make a map or something. Save me from a detention and a whole lot of embarrassment and maybe a few bruises..."

"Bruises? What were you doing, crawling under the house tables looking for a trap door?"

Skylar laughed along with him so he wouldn't realize that that was more or less _exactly _what she had been doing. The laughter came to an abrupt end when they heard a meow from outside the door. Both of them stood up immediately.

"I'm coming in," Said a wheezy voice. Filch.

"WAIT!" Skylar cried. "Give us a moment!"

"What are you...?" Sirius started to ask before he was interrupted by the voice outside the door.

"Give us a moment! The lady said give us a moment! Can you believe it?" The voice sounded different but Skylar didn't notice.

She thrust one of the rags into Sirius's hand and began to open the jar of the disgusting polish.

"We have to at least make it look like we did it by hand!" Skylar went to dip her cloth into the container but the smell was too much and she pushed it toward Sirius.

"Oh, come on. It's not that bad." Sirius said as he dipped his rag into the tin and then brought it up close to his face in order to prove her wrong. But it was too much for him too. And he threw the container away from him, towards Skylar and towards the wall. Skylar managed to duck at the last second but it whizzed by her face and she gagged loudly.

"I'm coming in there!"

"Wait!" Sirius called as he and Skylar rushed forward to clean up the mess they made. Skylar was half-laughing and half-gagging and Sirius was mostly laughing. Skylar and Sirius were both reaching upwards, wiping the polish off the wall when the door opened.

"Well, what do we have here?" Asked the wheezy voice.

Skylar looked out from behind Sirius's upraised arm and saw not Filch, but instead James Potter and Remus Lupin. Sirius let out a sound somewhere between a sigh of a relief and a laugh.

"You've gotten way too good at your Filch impression," Sirius said.

"I know," said James with a grin. "but Moony here is still having trouble with his Mrs. Norris, he's a bit too canine, don't you think?"

"Yeah, just a bit." All of the boys laughed at some joke that Skylar didn't understand. Sirius lowered his arm and Skylar was now fully visible.

"Skylar," Remus said surprised.

"Hi Remus,"

"You two know each-" But before Sirius could ask his question, Remus said:

"Guess this explains why you weren't at the prefect meeting tonight."

Sirius turned around and stared at Skylar in disbelief.

"_Prefect? _You're a prefect? No wonder you wanted to do it by hand."

Skylar had left her Prefect's badge in her dormitory. Something about serving a detention while wearing a badge seemed a bit counterproductive.

"Er, do what exactly by hand, mate? Anything to do with the fact that you two made us wait before opening the door?" James said with a grin. Sirius began to laugh and even Remus was smiling.

"We were cleaning up the evidence, right Skylar?"

"Right. Speaking of..." Skylar picked up the two polish-soaked rags and threw them in front of the door, so Filch could see them clearly as soon as he came to let them out. Not that Skylar had any idea of sticking around till then. "We should probably leave before he gets back." Skylar gave the wall a glance, where the polish was soaking in and leaving a stain.

The four of them left the trophy room together and walked down the empty corridor. Skylar looked at James and Remus and said:

"Thanks for saving us."

"Yeah," Sirius agreed. "Why did you anyway?"

"Well, it was my fault you got in trouble in the first place," Remus said.

"No, not really," Sirius argued.

Remus looked like he was about to say something back but James interrupted:

"It's no ones fault," he said firmly. "But it wasn't fair that only you got detention. So we thought it was our duty to bring justice to the world." James said pompously with a smug expression and a sudden strut.

"So you caused some mischief?" Sirius asked.

"Exactly," James said, his voice returning to normal with a smile breaking out across his face and his gait returning to his usual not-so-dramatic strut. "So Peter went off to distract Filch while I went off to save the damsel in distress in her tower. You, that is, not Skylar. And happened to meet Moony here on the way, coming out of his I'm a good boy meeting."

Skylar, Sirius, and Remus were all laughing. They had reached the point where Skylar had to turn off to return to the Hufflepuff dormitories while the rest of them went off to Gryffindor.

They exchanged their goodnights and James started to walk away followed by Remus who then stopped:

"Oh yeah! Do you want me to tell you what you missed at the meeting tonight?"

"That's okay. I'm sure Michael will let me know. Thanks, Remus."

"No problem," He said with a little wave as he headed off towards James.

Sirius was still standing next to Skylar and he turned towards her with a smile and said:

"Remember the pear."

"Yeah," Skylar smiled. "Thanks." And she turned down the corridor to head back to her dorms. She thought she heard James ask: "The Pair? Pair of what exactly are you referring to Sirius? I can think of a couple of things that come in pairs..." But Skylar was too far away to hear what James named. She smiled to herself as she passed the painting and muttered to the pear:

"Next time."

* * *

**Author's Note: **So I'm working on another Sirius story at the moment but this idea sort of popped into my head and wouldn't leave so I had to write this lighthearted, fun story. I'll try my hardest to update both stories as often as possible. Anyway, hope you enjoyed!


	2. Chapter 2

It was November and a fire burned brightly in the Gryffindor commonroom warming the students as the chill of winter crept up on them. A group of boys sat near the fire contemplating their latest adventure in the cold forest.

"Next time. Next time we will be able to do it. I know we will," Sirius insisted.

"Maybe you two but not me," Peter said glumly.

"You were close," James added while he stretched in the armchair in front of the commonroom fire before rumpling his hair. "Like last time when you were on all fours making that whining noise. Maybe you'll be a horse."

"No. I tripped over a rock and fell down. And then I fell _on _the rock and it cut my knee and it really hurt, so I was probably making a noise and..."

Sirius gave Peter an incredulous look and then met James's eyes. Both boys grinned but then James was distracted by Lily Evans crossing the commonroom and heading towards the exit. The easy grin on his face faded into a look of confusion. Now, Sirius and Peter were the ones exchanging knowing looks. Before Sirius could make a comment, Remus sat down heavily on the empty armchair with a deep sigh, having just walked in.

"Hang on," James said sitting up. "If you're just coming in from Prefect duty where is Evans going?" For a moment it seemed like James was about to run after her.

"The head girl decided she wanted to try something new. So now we do inter-house patrolling. I had duty with Skylar. And Lily goes out now." On Skylar's name Remus glanced towards Sirius and saw the smallest of reactions.

"So who is Lily patrolling with?"

"Probably the other Hufflepuff fifth year, Dylan." Remus said while he rummaged around in his bag for something.

"Oh. He's a git." James said decidedly.

"Exactly," Remus said as he found a bar of chocolate and took a bite. "I don't know how Skylar puts up with him without hexing him. Or acting violent towards him, for that matter."

"Someone's grumpy. Must be that time of the month." Sirius joked.

"He even has chocolate!" James laughed.

"Who's Skylar?' Peter asked oblivious to the other boys' teasing of Lupin, who was usually kind to everyone.

"Fifth year hufflepuff in our Herbology class." Sirius answered.

"Blonde hair?"

"No, That is..." James faltered on a name.

"...Anna." Sirius finished for his friend.

"And Meg's the one with black hair." Remus added.

"I know who Meg is." Peter said as he looked down at his lap and wringed his hands nervously.

"Peter, you're absolutely blushing!"

Peter muttered something about going to bed and hurried up the stairs. His three friends stared after him speechless before turning to eachother.

"That was odd," Remus said.

"I think Peter has a little crush," Sirius smiled as he lounged back in his chair again.

"Poor bloke," James said as he looked at the door of the commonroom, which Lily had exited from moments before.

"I think we should set them up," Sirius said slowly as he looked at the dying fire.

"Sirius, don't" Remus warned with a groan.

"Come on, Peter deserves some love too. Maybe Skylar would help us out."

"Speaking of Skylar and crushes: You never told us what happened while you two had detention together and now you want to come up with some elaborate plan with her..."

"...To help Peter. Don't be mad because no one offers you any help with Lily."

"I dunno. What do you think, Moony?" James asked ignoring his friend's comment.

Remus looked at his two friends with a look that made it clear that he knew something that they didn't know and then said:

"I'm not getting involved."

"And neither am I," Sirius said a little defensively. "Imagine what would happen to my reputation if I dated a prefect. I _will_ get involved with getting Peter a date though. And you two are _going _to help me."

* * *

"Peeves, please," Skylar pleaded as she jogged to catch up with the poltergeist.

"Little firsties better get to beddykins before the big bad werewolf of Hogwarts gets them."

One of the first-years whom Peeves was chasing after with ink pellets stopped short and ink splashed all along the bottom of her robes as a result:

"There's a _werewolf _at Hogwarts?" She asked horrified.

"No," Skylar said firmly now that she had finally caught up to the odd little pack. "There's no werewolf but he's right. You shouldn't be out roaming. Where are you coming from?"

"The Library," Said one of the boys in the group.

Skylar looked and saw Ravenclaw colors on all three of the first-years.

"Okay, but it's five minutes until curfew so get back to your dormitory."

The first years ran off looking in all directions as they went, either on the lookout for Peeves or the pretend Werewolf.

"And you," Skylar said as she spun around to face Peeves. "Stop telling the first years lies to scare them and stop with the ink. "

"The itty bitty prefect thinks Peeves is a liar. Well the itty bitty prefect is wrong."

"Peeves, Don't be ridiculous and don't make me call the bloody baron."

At this threat, Peeves aimed an ink pellet at Skylar's head which missed her by about an inch.

"The perfect prefect is too scared to call the bloody baron," Peeves cackled as he aimed another ink pellet towards her.

"Maybe. But I'm not. And I already did." Said a voice from behind Skylar. She turned to see who it was and the ink pellet hit her on the back. She felt the ink explode all over the back of her robes.

"PEEVES!" She shouted but he was already floating down the corridor laughing his head off.

Skylar was trying to see the ink damage and looked like a dog chasing it's tail as she spun in a circle.

"I don't think that's working," The unidentified voice said.

"It's past curfew, why are you out?" Skylar snapped before she looked up and saw Sirius leaning against a pillar with his hands in his pockets.

"Looking for you actually. I came to tell you Lupin won't be patrolling with you tonight."

"I noticed." Skylar snapped again, still trying unsuccessfully to get rid of the ink.

"Here," Sirius said as he pointed his wand at her back and performed a spell to get rid of the ink.

"Thanks," Skylar said, becoming aware of how rude she was being. "Is Remus okay?" She asked.

"Yeah, just a little under the weather."

"He's ill a lot, isn't he?"

Sirius shrugged uncomfortably and Skylar wondered if she overstepped her boundaries.

"It's probably just the rain. It makes me feel bad too," Skylar said as she looked out of the window at the mixture of rain and leaves blowing in the wind. It had been raining all day and clouds still dominated the sky, Skylar could barely see the bright full moon.

"I noticed." Sirius joked.

There was a sound in the next corridor and Sirius and Skylar both looked towards it.

"Er, you didn't _actually _call the Bloody Baron, did you?" Skylar asked.

Sirius shook his head but said: "We should move anyway though. Don't want to run into our old friend Filch now, do we?"

"Yeah, old friend. You think he's mad at you for ditching him the night we had detention?" Skylar joked, trying to make up for being short-tempered.

"Is he ever _not _mad?"

They both laughed as they moved along the deserted hallway. An awkward silence fell between them and Skylar wondered why he was there, he already supposedly told her what he had to tell her.

"You know my friend Peter?" Sirius said suddenly.

Skylar nodded.

"And you're a Hufflepuff so you know Meg, right?"

"Yeah," Skylar said slowly, confused.

"Well recent events have made it clear to me that Peter has a little crush on-"

"Meg? Are we thinking of the same Meg?"

"Yeah," Sirius was now the confused one. "Is there something wrong with that?"

"No, of course not. It's just that I don't think anyone has ever had a crush _on _Meg before."

They turned into another corridor and Skylar thought she saw someone turn the other corner, she couldn't tell if it was a student or ghost.

"Well, I don't think Peter has ever had a crush _on_ anyone before. See? They're perfect."

"I didn't say Meg never had a crush before," Skylar said with a smile. "She's actually kind of boy crazy just without the whole, you know, being crazy _with _a boy part."

"Do you think she would be crazy _with _Peter?" Sirius asked with a smirk.

Suddenly Skylar understood why many of her classmates had a crush on him but Skylar's heart was already too full with another crush to develop one. Even though she didn't fancy him, she still felt her stomach sort of swoop but she ignored it and frowned in thought:

"I don't know. I don't think she has ever really mentioned him. But maybe."

"I think it's perfect. She's a little odd, he's-"

"She's not odd!" Skylar said defensively.

An easy way to describe Meg would be this: she's what everyone considers a Hufflepuff to be. Not the smartest, Not the bravest, Not the most clever but she was a sweet girl who had to be nice to everyone until they wronged her and she had a big heart especially when it came to boys.

"You didn't let me finish." Sirius said testily. "Peter's a little odd too. I think it's a good fit. It's just a matter of how to get them together, which is where I need your help."

"Why do you need my help?"

"Because I know Peter. He'd never be able to pull this off on his own. He needs his friend's help. And you're a loyal Hufflepuff who would do anything for your friends..."

"Fine. What's your plan?" Skylar asked, not wanting to hear whatever he was going to say to get on her good side. She was still in a somewhat bad mood from the ink incident and feeling odd about the stomach-swooshing.

"Well, we need to get them together alone somehow. Maybe...detention?" Sirius said with a slight smile.

"No way. Meg would _never _get a detention."

"So she's a goody goody, huh? I guess that will work" Sirius muttered more to himself then to Skylar but then he turned towards her with that grin that would have knocked most girls off their feet but Skylar's stayed firmly on the ground. Her stomach didn't evcn swoosh this time, maybe she was just hungry a moment ago. "Though if that's case, why did you get Prefect over her, miss detention?

"Because I'm perfect, obviously. At least that's what Peeves said..."

They both laughed and then suddenly they heard footsteps behind them. A girl with dark hair was running towards them before stumbling and catching herself at the last moment before falling.

"Meg," Skylar said surprised and threw Sirius a look. "What are you doing out here?"

"Anna sent me," She said panting. She stared at Sirius suddenly. "What are _you_ doing?" She asked looking between Skylar and Sirius.

"Nothing. What's wrong with Anna?"

"I dunno. She got a letter and is upset and then asked if I could find you."

"Oh," Skylar said concerned. "Let's go back to the commonroom."

Skylar looked at Sirius and he raised his eyebrows and looked discreetly at Meg. Skylar gave the tiniest nod and said:

"I'll talk to you soon."

Skylar and Meg turned around and began to walk towards the kitchens. Meg was holding a stitch in her side, panting. Skylar was thinking of how the letter was probably from Anna's boyfriend or was it exboyfriend? Skylar couldn't keep up with their ever-changing relationship status. When the girls turned the corner, Meg asked:

"What were you doing out with Sirius Black?"

"Nothing. He was breaking curfew. Like you are." Skylar said quickly

"He's always breaking rules. It's part of what makes him so dreamy." Anna said in a far-off voice. "Do you think he's dating someone?"

A sudden idea struck Skylar. "Yeah," she asnwered. "Me."

"WHAT?"

"Sort of. I mean he wants to date me. He...asked me to go to Hogsmeade with him. I said yes but I'm not sure-"

"You're not sure you want to date _Sirius Black?" _

"Come with me. Then it won't be so weird." Skylar said with a fake plead.

"You want _me _to go on a date with _you _and _Sirius?" _Meg asked as if Skylar had completely lost her mind.

"Yeah. And one of his friends too. Like a group. So it will be fun not weird."

"Oh. I get it. You're still hung up on Michael." Meg said slowly.

"I...no." Skylar said flustered. "If I still liked Michael, would I be going on a date with Sirius?"

"Of course you still like him. Otherwise, why would you ask _me _to go on the date with you?"

"Well, I'd ask Anna but you see how she gets with any mention of boys. I doubt she would want to doubledate with one of the Gryffindor boys." Skylar said rolling her eyes, hoping she was playing her role convincingly.

"Which boy?" Meg suddenly asked suspiciously.

"Does it matter?"

"I guess not," Meg said with a smile. "Is this really happening, Sky?"

"Yup. Next Hogsmeade visit."

Meg squeeled as she hopped into the commonroom. Skylar shook her head, unsure if this plan would work but was amused to see how how excited Meg was. She left one friend's excitement about her first date behind in order to find her other heartbroken friend.


	3. Chapter 3

The Hufflepuffs and Gryffindors were stomping the mud off their shoes and the bottoms of their robes as they splattered into the greenhouse. Although, it had stopped raining, the day was still overcast and the ground was wet and the students were happy to be in the warm greenhouse after the treacherous route from the castle to Herbology class.

"Alright class, three to a pot. Now begin," Professor Sprout said.

Skylar moved to a table with Anna and Meg and began to work with the plant. Skylar looked surreptitiously towards the table that Sirius was working at with James and Peter. Remus still must have been ill. She wondered how she could consult Sirius about her plan. Although, she thought she was being stealth, Meg noticed Skylar's glance and leaned over and whispered:

"Which friend do you think he'll bring? I hope it's James," She said breathlessly. "He's the most handsome after Sirius."

"What are you two whispering about? Who's handsome?" Anna asked irritably, she hadn't gotten much sleep last night.

"Um," Skylar said, giving herself away by staring at the table where now just Peter and James were standing at. "I'll go get us more dirt," She added quickly as she spotted Sirius near the manure pile.

Skylar set the pot down that she was supposed to fill and stared at Sirius steadily.

"We're dating," She said simply.

"Excuse me?" Sirius asked looking up at her across the pile of dirt. His nose wrinkled slightly, whether a result of the manure or the proposition, Skylar couldn't tell.

Skylar told him of her plan to have the four of them doubledate while she scooped manure into the plant pot.

"You want to date me?" Sirius asked, his eyebrow raised.

"No," Skylar said as she continued to fill the pot quite unnecessarily as it was already full. "I want to _fake _date you. I reckon I wouldn't try to woo anybody over a pile of dragon dung."

Sirius smiled in response then said: "So when are we doing this?"

"Next Hogsmeade visit."

"Excellent," Sirius said as he began to walk away before stopping abruptly. "Hang on, we don't have to be fake dating all the way until Christmas holiday, do we?"

Skylar was sure she should have been offended by this and a small part of her was, but mostly she was just amused.

"Just one fake date," Skylar said as she picked up the overflowing mound of dirt and made her way back towards Meg and Anna.

"What took you so long?" Anna asked. "These things get angry without dirt." She rubbed a tiny burn on her hand as she said it.

"She was probably just talking to Sirius about their date," Meg answered.

One of the Gryffindor girls at the next table dropped her pot with a gasp in an explosion of smoke and dirt. Skylar instinctually bent down to help her pick up the pieces but the girl magicked them up and gave Skylar a cold stare.

"What was that all about?" Skylar asked as she stood back up and faced Anna and Meg.

"Funny, I was going to ask you the same thing," Anna said. "Since when are you dating Sirius Black? I know you two had detention together and became friends but dating? Why didn't you tell me? I know I've been sensitive about boys lately but I'm your best friend, it hurts when you don't tell me things."

"I know that," Skylar said softly, upset that she had hurt her friend. "And I'll tell you _everything _later. We'll go for a walk just before dinner, just the two of us, okay?"

And so Skylar explained and Anna was also surprised that Peter had a crush on Meg. They both agreed that maybe those two would be a good couple after all. They wondered what was up with the Gryffindor in Herbology. Anna guessed that maybe she had a crush on Sirius and was jealous of Skylar. Skylar hated to have anybody dislike her, would one fake date leave her with a few enemies?

* * *

And before she knew it, the day of the fake date arrived. Snow had been gently falling all of Friday night so by Saturday morning, the Hogwarts ground was covered in a blanket of pure white snow. The sun shone brightly so that it glared against the snow, threatening to melt it, if only it wasn't so cold. The Hufflepuff fifth year girls were sitting grumpy and sleepy in their dorm, having been awoken by Meg who decided to rise before the sun.

"Are you sure you don't want to come?" Skylar asked Anna as they both stared at Meg comb her hair for what seemed like the five-hundreth time.

"And be your fifth wheel? No thank you." Anna snapped before settling into a large yawn.

Meg rushed out of the room to go the bathroom to finish her last minute primping. Skylar leaned into whisper:

"You can help me. Have you seen that girl? She's a nervous wreck. Today is going to be difficult."

"Well you and Black are the ones with the brilliant matchmaking plans so you two have to deal with it."

"I don't want to leave you here alone all day." Skylar said, forgetting all pretense and getting to her main point.

"It's fine. I have that History of Magic essay to work on anyway. Just bring me back some Honeydukes."

"I don't know, " Skylar said in fake thought. "Remember what happened last time I tried to bring you food?"

"From the kitchens?" Anna laughed. "Yeah, I recall you ended up with a date."

"A _fake _date," Skylar added, noting the tiny bit of jealously in Anna's words.

"Well maybe bringing me Honeydukes will ensure a _real_ date. I bet Michael will be there. He's one of those freaks that actually _likes _Acid pops."

Skylar laughed in response but her insides were squirming. What would happen if Michael saw her on her fake date? What would he say? Would he get jealous? Angry? Lose respect for her? Before she could say anything to Anna, Meg rushed back in.

"How do I look?" She asked nervously.

"Beautiful, honestly. Much to good for that Pet-" Anna said with a smile.

"You do," Skylar interrupted, throwing Anna a look. They hadn't told her that it was Peter, scared that she would back out if she knew.. Anna shut her mouth firmly and gave a small apologetic smile.

"I don't understand why _you _aren't primping more." Meg said to Skylar. Meg had been using some magical sort of magic elixir that made her hair smooth and shiny and she looked much more put together then any of the girls had ever seen her. Skylar looked at the mirror, hanging on the far wall. Her hair was still in position and her nicest sweater still looked nice.

"Don't I look okay?"

"You look fine," Anna said,

"But _fine _isn't enough for Sirius Black. Come on, we'll be late. Where are we meeting them? Oh, I hope my hair..." Meg's voice faded as she got further away from the dorm door.

Skylar rolled her eyes at Anna and then followed Meg, answering: "At The Three Broomsticks."

* * *

"Why are we going to The Three Broomsticks?" Peter asked Sirius as they walked the path to Hogsmeade, their shoes crunching against the snow.

"Because I have a date." Sirius answered promptly.

"But that still doesn't explain why _I'm _going."

Sirius sighed in annoyance. He had been through this a thousand times before. "Because James has Quidditch and Lupin is...ill." Sirius concluded as a group of third year girls giggled past them.

"But why do you need one of us on the date with you?'

"Oh," Sirius said and he thought for a moment. "Because that's what Skylar wants. She doesn't want to go on a date with me alone Yet." He added with a grin.

"So you're date is with Skylar? That's the one James is always going on about?"

"No, Peter." Sirius said incredulously. "That's _Lily_, not Skylar."

"I know who Lily is, I meant that-"

But Sirius cut him off with: "Oh look we're here." He was already annoyed and was beginning to think that his little matchmaking plans were foolish.

As the two boys walked in, Sirius couldn't see Skylar or Meg anywhere. Peter, on the other hand, spotted them right away.

"Meg is with her. Wow, Meg." Peter ended in a whisper. Sirius followed his friend's gaze and he understood his amazement in an instant.

"That's Meg? What happened to her?" Sirius asked with a laugh as he walked towards the table.

"Shut up," Peter said in a squeaky voice, still not moving.

Over at the table, the unrecognizable Meg looked up and let out a little squeak herself.

"Oh, He brought along Peter."

Skylar noted the disappointment in her voice and said: "Peter is really nice. He's..." She tried to think of something else to say but couldn't. Luckily, Sirius reached their table in that moment.

"Ladies," He said smoothly as he bent down to kiss Skylar's cheek. Surprised, Skylar flinched and began to push him away. Sirius laughed by her ear and whispered: "We're supposed to be on a date, remember?"

Skylar forced herself to smile and faced Sirius. Through her smile, she said: "I don't care. Boundaries."

Sirius turned towards Meg and said: "Hello Meg. You know my friend Peter, right?"

Meg nodded and turned towards Peter: "Hello. It's nice to see you,"

Peter gave a half-nod and sat down not really looking at any of them. Meg's smile faltered and she looked towards Skylar, who gave an encouraging smile in return. Skylar looked at Sirius who just shrugged. As they waited for their butterbeers to arrive, no one said anything. Skylar was looking between Meg and Peter to see if anything was happening but as far as she could tell, Peter had no interest. Meg looked disappointed and then turned her gaze to look at Sirius and Skylar, when she caught Skylar's eye, she gave her a questioning look. Skylar thought of anything to say and noticing that it had begun snowing again, she said quite abruptly:

"I hate the snow. It's just frozen rain. And rain is terrible so snow is worse."

Three blank stares were the responses to Skylar's outburst. "You hate the snow too, right Meg?" She said in an attempt for any sort of conversation.

"Actually, I quite like the snow. Lots of fun activities you can do in the snow."

"Exactly." Said Sirius. "Like snowball fights. You like snowball fights, don't you Peter?"

"Not really. I usually end up getting hurt," Said Peter, looking embarrassed.

Sirius laughed. "You're right. Remember that time James-" He stopped abruptly and looked at Skylar who had just aimed a kick at him from under the table. Skylar had noticed how Peter was sinking lower and lower in his seat, as if he wished to disappear completely.

Luckily, their butterbeers arrived which saved them momentarily from the awkwardness. All four drank steadily and exchanged looks, still not saying anything. Skylar was mildly horrified to see that her mug was nearly empty. She set it down carefully and said:

"You know these mugs remind me. The other day in Transfiguration, we were supposed to be turning those mice into mugs only I did it wrong and mine turned into a slug." Skylar laughed nervously and clearly saw that the story wasn't so amusing to anyone but Meg.

"Oh yeah, That was really funny." Meg said with a smile.

"It just shows how useless Transfiguration really is," Skylar continued.

"Transfiguration isn't useless. I think it's one of the more useful ones. Potions on the other hand is useless." Sirius said.

"Potions? You're joking! There are thousands of things you can do with Potions."

"You mean to tell me that you think out there in the real world, knowing the correct way to stew toad eyes is going to help you?"

"I can't imagine turning a mouse into a mug will do you a whole lot of help either."

"That's the easy stuff," Sirius said dismissively, "But when you can do advanced transfiguration it is really helpful." He said smugly.

"Oh. I'm sorry I didn't realize you were capable of _advanced _transfiguration," Skylar said sarcastically. "I take it all back now. Of course, I'm probably at the advanced potion making stage so that's just as useful."

"Oh no, _I'm _sorry." Sirius retorted in the same tone. "I didn't realize you were _advanced _at being able to cook things up."

Skylar laughed, hardly offended. "I suppose you think being able to cook food is also useless. Who needs to eat?"

"Who needs to know how to cook? House-Elves can do that."

"Skylar can cook really well though." Meg said. "Last summer, she visited me and she made these chocolate cookies and they were amazing."

"Thank you," Skylar said before turning towards Sirius and saying: "Ha."

Sirius laughed a little, looking just as amused as Skylar felt. "Peter, what do you think about all this?" Sirius asked.

"Er, well I think Transfiguration is useful obviously but I also think potions can be helpful too. And," Peter glanced up at Meg and finally smiled. "And chocolate is always good."

Noting the exchange between Peter and Meg at this moment, Skylar said: "We should go to Honeydukes later."

"Yes." Said Meg. "I think I'm finally ready to try cockroach clusters."

"You've never had them? I love them but Fudge Flies are better." Peter said.

"Oh I love fudge flies! But one time I had a whole batch fly away."

"One time, a cockroach cluster walked right out of my mouth."

"That's disgusting!" Meg said while laughing.

As they continued to chat about sweets, Skylar looked at Sirius who was looking at Peter and Meg in disbelief. He turned his gaze towards Skylar after a moment and they smiled at eachother.

"Hey Sirius, Let's go get refills." Skylar said as she noticed Peter and Meg moving closer to one another laughing about something.

As Sirius and Skylar walked away from the table towards the bar, Skylar commented:

"Well that was awkward."

"Dreadful. I was about to fake getting sick just to get out of there. Of course, if we stayed for that _lovely _conversation, I probably wouldn't have had to fake it. "

"At least they're talking now though."

"But they bonded over cockroach clusters. It's unnatural."

Skylar was about to make a comment about how she and Sirius had bonded over trophy polish but bit it back. Had they actually bonded yet? As the two waited for their drinks. Skylar looked over towards Peter and Meg and was thrilled to see them still laughing and talking. She went to point this out to Sirius and but found him staring intently at a group of slytherins nearby.

Just then, Madam Rosmerta returned with their butterbeers. Sirius grabbed his and started back towards the table but Skylar grabbed his arm.

"We can't go back over there."

"Why not?"

"Because look at them!" Sirius and Skylar both looked at Peter and Meg, who had once again moved closer to one another and were deep in conversation. "If we go back over there, it will mess up the whole dynamic."

"Well I'm not staying here."

Now Skylar was the one to ask: "Why not?"

In response, Sirius glanced towards the group of Slytherins and Skylar recognized one of them as Regulus Black.

"Isn't that your brother?" She asked.

"How do you.-" But before Sirius can finish one of the other boys said in a loud and snotty voice:

"Not _all _of your family is in Slytherin."

"The ones who count are," responded Regulus.

Skylar was grateful that she already had a grip on Sirius' arm because he started for the group of boys. She tightened her hold and said:

"Don't even think about it. I'll give you detention."

"What? We're not even on school grounds."

"I don't care. Excuse me?" Skylar said talking to Madam Rosmerta. "Could you bring these two butterbeers to that table right over there? Thanks. Now come on," She said to Sirius as she dragged him out of The Three Broomsticks.

"I can't believe you're turning into a prefect on me,"

"I am not. I'm just trying to prevent you from doing something stupid over something that doesn't even matter."

"It does matter. You don't know-"

"Don't know what it's like to have Slytherin family members? Last I checked my father was one."

Sirius' mouth fell open in surprise but he shut it quickly when he saw a group of students nearby. Among them was Michael, the sixth year Hufflepuff boy that Skylar had a crush on though she didn't notice him. Sirius suddenly made a sharp turn and started to head down the road.

"Where are you going?" Skylar asked.

"We're going to the shrieking shack."

"Shrieking shack? But why?" Skylar's voice sounded squeaky.

Sirius stopped and smiled. "You're not scared are you?"

"They say it's haunted and all sorts of terrible things happen there. Why do you want to go there?"

"It's not," Sirius said as he continued to walk. "And because no one will be there and you now have my full attention."

Skylar hesitated for a moment but then followed him. It was still snowing lightly and Skylar regretted the fact that she hadn't grabbed a hat before leaving Hogwarts.

"See?" Sirius said when they finally arrived. "It's not so bad. Now, was your dad really a Slytherin or did you just say that?"

"Why would I lie about that?" Skylar asked leaning against a tree, in the hopes of taking cover from the snow.

"Because it's not exactly a secret that my whole family is in Slytherin but I'm a Gryffindor."

"He really is a Slytherin. Well, _was_ 25 years ago."

"So are you the black sheep of the family as a hufflepuff?"

"Not really." Skylar said vaguely, not particularly wanting to talk about her family. "My aunt was a Ravenclaw. And I think my Grandma was a Gryffindor while my grandpa was a Hufflepuff. Or maybe it was the other way around, I never met them. But we're all sort of scattered."

"You're lucky," Sirius said after a few seconds, he was staring at the shrieking shack. "you didn't besmirch the family's honor by turning out decent."

"That's not fair. Not all Slytherins are bad. My father is great. And my being a hufflepuff _was _disappointing to some. Mostly my older cousin who was Slytherin and who was like a brother to me."

"Do you still talk?" Sirius asked after a moment.

"No," Skylar said shortly. "None of us talk to him anymore. He decided to become a death eater."

"Oh. I'm sorry."

"Yeah, me too. But that's his decision and there is nothing I can do about it."

"Doesn't it bother you though?"

Skylar stopped to think for a moment and answered with: "Do your family members bother you?"

They stared at each other for a moment and each gave the other a sad, little smile.

"Just because they are our family doesn't mean we're like them, Sirius. What they do isn't a reflection of us."

Sirius reflected on this for a moment as he watched the snow swirl down around them. He looked at Skylar:

"You're shaking."

"I'm cold is all."

"Right. We should go back."

"Yeah, we need to check on Meg and Peter. See how the rest of the date went."

"I think the rest of the date went brilliantly." Sirius said with a smile as they walked back along the snow-covered trail.


	4. Chapter 4

"Sirius, don't be stupid! Get under the cloak."

"Why? It's not anyone else is around and I'm way too excited to crouch down like you idiots."

"More like you just want to strut,"

"I learned from the best, Antlers."

Sirius Black, James Potter, and Peter Pettigrew were sneaking through the corridors of Hogwarts past curfew. However, only Sirius was visible and he was in fact, strutting. Until a well-aimed kick came his way.

"Ow. That's not fair, I can't see if you're about to attack."

"Why the hell did you call me Antlers?"

"Seemed fitting after tonight's discoveries." Sirius grinned in the general direction, the other voice was coming from.

"Shh! I think I hear something."

"Who cares, Peter? No one can touch us after tonight." Sirius began to walk backwards, staring at where his two friends were hidden. "You do realize how amazing this is, right? We can do-"

"Sirius shut up and turn around." One of his friends muttered and Sirius spun on the spot to see whoever was standing there staring at him.

* * *

"Skylar? May I ask a favor of you?"

Skylar gave Dylan Bast, her fellow hufflepuff fifth year prefect, a skeptical look. They had been mostly silent on their rounds until this moment. It wasn't that Skylar didn't like him but he easily got on her nerves or anyone's nerves for that matter. Any sort of favor he wanted had to be something odd.

"Um, I guess."

"I know you're good at potions and close to professor Slughorn and-"

"I wouldn't exactly say we're close." Skylar said embarrassed.

"You're in the Slug Club aren't you? The only Hufflepuff from our year." Dylan said slightly affronted.

Skylar knew that to Dylan, the fact that she was one of Slughorn's favorites and he wasn't was a deep insult.

"He only likes me because my great aunt something or another created some potion."

"Nevertheless, he likes you. I was wondering maybe you could ask him if it was possible to use the dungeons to study once a week. I've started my O. study guide and I really do think it be benefit me greatly if I practiced making potions outside of class. If you'd like, we can start some sort of study group-"

"Dylan, it's January. The O. are months away."

"You know Skylar, you should take your studies more seriously. You're a prefect, people look to us to guide them and set an example. Frankly Skylar, I don't think you try. I heard that you've been in detention this year. This is why we haven't had a Hufflepuff head boy or girl since Amos Diggory. And that was our second year! I plan to follow in his footsteps."

Skylar was growing increasingly annoyed with his tirade and before she could stop herself she said: "You think _you'll _be the first Hufflepuff head boy in years?"

"What is that supposed to mean?" Dylan asked now clearly offended.

Guilt rushed through Skylar. She didn't mean to be so rude but she felt like Dylan was the longshot. Seventh year was still a long way off but Skylar imagined that it would be Remus Lupin or maybe even Severus Snape.

"I meant, I thought, maybe Michael would get Head Boy next year. That's all." This wasn't a lie, Skylar truly did believe that Michael could be head boy.

"Michael," Dylan contemplated. "I suppose he could be. He's an excellent prefect and-"

Dylan and Skylar both heard a clatter in the corridor behind them.

"I bet it is Peeves again." Dylan said, his eyes narrowed. "I'll go investigate. You keep patrolling."

"Yes, sir" Skylar muttered under her breath, completely fed up Dylan's behavior. Skylar turned the corner and was surprised to see Sirius Black, walking backwards and talking to himself. She stood for a moment, puzzled at his behavior but then she heard footsteps and noticed Dylan at the far end of the hallway, walking back in her direction. She turned towards Sirius again, who had finally noticed her and he grinned. Before he could say anything, Skylar rushed forward and said:

"You have to get out of here."

"Not tonight, I don't."

Skylar considered this for a second, confused before continuing: "No, you do because I won't give you detention but Dylan will."

"Dylan?" Sirius laughed. "What can _Dylan _do?"

"He will bring you to McGonagall! He's in that kind of mood. Just hide somewhere!" Skylar whispered frantically.

But before Sirius would listen, Dylan came around the corner and began to glare.

"Mr. Black, making a ruckus again I see."

"I'm not exactly sure 'ruckus' is the proper word."

"Right you are, Mr. Black. Detention is the proper word."

Skylar looked at Dylan is surprise. "Wow, Dylan that was almost clever."

Both of the boys looked at her with very different expressions. Dylan looked taken aback, Skylar was sure he hadn't heard many compliments from his schoolmates. Sirius was looking at her strangely.

"That wasn't clever, that was-"

But before Sirius could finish a clattering came from down the hall. Dylan looked infuriated.

"Skylar, give him detention. I'll go see what Peeves is up to now."

As Dylan ran down the hall, Sirius scrutinizingly stared at Skylar: "Well, are you going to give me detention?"

"No," Skylar said returning his stare. "Why are you so dirty?"

Sirius went back to looking smug. "You wouldn't believe me if I told you."

"Try me."

"Let's just say, I've been doing some extremely _advanced _and _impressive _magic. The sort of magic that-" Sirius gave a little jerk, like someone had walked in to him and he glanced behind him. "...that makes one tired. So off to bed with me." Sirius said turning around, hissing something under his breath.

"Hang on," Skylar said grabbing his arm and staring at him. Why was he acting so strangely? What sort of advanced magic was he doing? "Is everything okay?"

"Of course," He said staring at her hand on his arm.

"I mean _everything_. Like your Christmas holiday at home." Skylar placed emphasis on the word home, remembering their conversation in Hogsmeade.

The smug expression finally left his face: "It doesn't matter now that I'm back here."

"But,"

"Skylar," Sirius said firmly, shaking his arm slightly. "Let me go before Dylan comes back."

Skylar hadn't realized that she was still holding him. She let go quickly noticing that some dirt from his robes had smudged on to her hand.

"Of course," She said suddenly embarrassed. Sirius began to walk away. But Skylar called out:

"Hey Sirius! Our plan worked you know. Meg and Peter were sending owls to eachother all during the holiday."

Sirius smiled and from somewhere behind him there came a sound of a little squeak.

As soon as they were out of earshot, he reached behind him and snatched off the cloak. James and Peter were crouching awkwardly underneath it.

"So Mr. Pettigrew, you've been sending owls?"

Peter turned red and James and Sirius exchanged amused glances.

"N-None of your business."

"Oh, I see how it is, Peter," James said with a smile. "You and I can watch Sirius have a deeply personal moment but you can't tell us anything about your love life?'

Now, Sirius looked red and without realizing he clutched the spot that Skylar had been touching on his arm.. "Deeply personal moment? What exactly were you imagining there, Potter?"

James only laughed and threw the cloak around the three of them and began to walk back towards the Gryffindor common room.

Not far away, Skylar stared at the smudge of dirt on her hand while standing before the mirror in the girl's bathroom. She looked up into the mirror, back to the spot on her hand, and then with a shake of her head, she turned the faucet on and washed the dirt down the drain. Too cocky, too mischievous, who knows what he was up to tonight and who he had been doing it with she thought as she tried to scrub the skin right off her hand.


End file.
